Her Favorite Criminal
by VesperChan
Summary: She doesn't think kindly of many criminals, but out of all of them, he'd be her favorite. Madasaku and Uchisaku Police AU
1. Chapter 1

Sakura nearly jerks with the weight of the hand on her shoulder, but she's too tired, and Obito knows that. "You should go home, these files will still be here when you wake up. You're doing no good going over them again like this."

Sakura swallows a yawn and turns around in her chair to face the older officer. Obito was pleasant enough, he was always kind, especially to her, but it was odd to see him in her division at such an hour. Sure, they worked on the same force and yeah, she had been Sasuke's friend since before they could both walk, but Obito rarely sought her out like this.

"Do I really look that bad?" she asks in a tired whisper.

Obito winces. "Some of the others are too scared to say anything about it, though. You know we all think you're beautiful, but you're starting to look like death warmed over. When was the last time you slept?" Ask he asks his question, his eyes drift over to the waste bin under her desk where half a dozen styrofoam coffee cups lay crumpled. There was an additional one half full next to her computer.

"Quit judging me with your eyes."

"You're not going to find any new leads at the bottom of your coffee. You need sleep."

"I took a nap in the lounge this morning."

"What time was 'morning?'" Obito asks with air quotes around the word 'morning.'

Sakura mentally winces. "About two."

"Blood and hell," he sighs, shaking his head at her. "We already know you're an amazing cop. You don't have to kill yourself to prove it by solving impossible cases."

"They're not impossible, and that sort of attitude is exactly the reason why I'm down here in the first place," Sakura almost snaps, sitting up and glaring at her superior. She's tired, but there is fire back in her eyes.

Obito chuckles. "Not when it comes to you, there aren't. But seriously, we have a whole team assigned to nap Kabuto, and he's one of the guys we really want to pin down. We'll get him. It's just a matter of time."

"But time is costly," Sakura sighs, eyes drifting back to the computer screen where all the photos hide under layers of web pages. All she has to do is click and they're brought back to the forefront in grisly detail. Kabuto doesn't rest. And while each mess he leaves behind brings them closer to him, each mess costs another human life. Too many girls have had to pay the price of time.

"Then don't waste it with half fueled efforts. Go home, get to bed early, eat a good meal, and come back ready to work. I'll let Sasuke know you took off."

Sakura scowls at the implication, but she can't deny that her partner is a royal pain in the ass when he worries. He could have done so many other things with his life, but he insisted on sticking close to her because for as long as they've known each other, she's been as close as family to him, maybe closer, and he's told her before that loosing her is not an option. He's made himself a reckoning in the past when she's been sent out on her own or when she's forgotten to text him she's safe after a day out with someone else. People knew to be weary of overprotective Sasuke.

"I'll text him. You talk to him and he'll just freak out," Sakura says, pulling out her phone and opening the messenger app.

While family, Obito and Sasuke weren't the picture of perfect harmony. In fact, aside from his idol older brother and mother, Sasuke got along poorly with the whole of the Uchiha clan. It was a sad fate considering the Uchiha nearly owned the police force in Konaha. It was no small secret that getting the favor of the Uchiha clan was necessary for even being considered for admission to the police force. Still, Obito was one of the older Uchiha and traveled in a different circle. He didn't interact with Sasuke or Sakura much, and that was fine.

She sends Sasuke a quick text and then moves to put her phone away when Obito grunts. Her cheeks redden as she stares up at him in question. "What?" She asks sharply.

He eyes her phone and the unspoken request is there. She's not pouting, she's not pouting, she is not a child and she it not pouting. With a huff she opens the messenger app back up and shows the screen to Obito until he hums in approval. "Better," he says. "You're good to go home. Come back when you're rested."

"Yes, sir," Sakura cheekily snaps, rolling her eyes as she pockets the phone.

When she stands she can feel her bones groan. She stretches her arms out in front of her, twisting them so her back cracks. Obito winces at the sound, but nods his goodbye to her before leaving for his own devision. He's been too good of an Uchiha for too many years to not become someone worth noting in the force.

Sakura takes what is left of her coffee to the sink in the break room and dumps it down the sink, taking one last sip to help her power through the train ride home. Sasuke left with Itachi, but he might need the cruiser they share, so she leaves it behind. A walk might help her untangle the mess her mind has fallen into.

There is a muffled sound over her shoulder and Sakura looks to the opening to see Kagami in the doorway, bowing his head and turning back around with a coffee mug, muttering something about 'forgetting his work' or something like that. It was hard to believe Kagami's younger brother was Itachi's infamous partner, Shisui. The brother seemed so dissimilar in the most un-Uchiha of ways. Kagmi was too soft spoken around women for an Uchiha, and Kagami was too loud and energetic for one. But they both do their jobs extraordinarily well and leave no room for complaint on their character or continuance.

She leaves soon after that and takes the afternoon train home, catching it just before the line gets too crowded with men and women commuting home after a long day. When she gets off, the streets are just starting to get busy, but by the time she walks back to her apartment, there is a stretch of silence for her brain to work in. She can remember and see things more clearly in her memory the more she moves. She should have just done this earlier. How long had she stayed at that desk?

The key fits easily and Sakura walks into her apartment with a better sorted mind only to freeze on the threshold and hold that position. With a baited breath, she moved her hand to her holster and eased the door shut behind her. She levels the gun out in front of her face and moves through the hallway, eyes wide and alert. She lives alone, and leaves her apartment sometimes for days at a time, so there really shouldn't be the smell of Chinese takeout coming from the kitchen.

Rounding the corner Sakura sees the bag and the note and sweeps the rest of the room. She doesn't stop to read or inspect the note, but moves on to the bedroom and bathroom. Her apartment is too small and too open for her to have anywhere else to hide. A quick sweep tells her she's clear, and she eases up a bit before looking into the closets. Those are empty too. Her intruder broke in, left her warm take out, and made off all before she could come home. Sakura goes back to the kitchen and feels the cartons. They're all warm. She must have just missed him.

Sakura reaches for the note with her fingernails, leaving her gun out on the counter in case she needs it quick. As expected, the script is familiar.

'Heard you weren't eating. I love you. Stay healthy, Madara.'

"Bastard."

Sakura drops the note into the garbage and puts away her gun. He won't be back, but she's tempted to at least throw away his food as a way to spite him. But when she checks, her fridge is nearly bare and her stomach has been empty for too long, so she deadbolts the doors and checks all the locks on the windows before changing out of her uniform and into her sleeping shirt.

Dinner is from her favorite Chinese place, the one she can almost never afford, and there's enough of it that she's able to eat half and save the rest for the next time she comes home hungry. She's halfway through when Sasuke texts, asking her if she made it and if she's free to talk now. He must have just gotten back from wherever he was with Itachi.

"Hey," she says once the dial tone clicks and she hears him pick up. "How was your day."

"You went home early, you okay?"

Sakura hums, moving her food around with her chopsticks. Her voice is overly sweet when she responds, just the way he hates it. He complains that she sounds like his mother when she talks to him like that. "Sasuke kun, I'm worried about your eyes. They're not deteriorating, are they? I'm pretty sure I texted you earlier saying exactly that."

"You said not to worry so of course I worried. I left before you yesterday too. Did you really not go home?"

Sakura catches a piece of chicken in the rice and chews on the end of it before biting it in half. Her words are a bit crowded in her mouth when she speaks. "Yeah, like you've never slept overnight in the lounge. Itachi even has a sofa in his room for exactly that reason. I haven't done that in a while."

"Are you eating?"

"I'm taking care of myself."

"No, I mean is that actual food, like chewing food?"

Sakura huffs. "Really? You're asking me that. I do own things other than protein shakes. Every now and than I can get take out."

"But you never do." There's a moment of silence before he asks. "Who got it for you? Was it Shisui? Did that asshole try and take advantage of you when you were weak by offering food?"

Sakura rolls her eyes, but then winces when she remembers how much worse the situation is. Yeah, and Uchiha did bring her food, but it wasn't Sasuke's idiot cousin, it was Sasuke's crazy criminal uncle who left the police force at the height of his career to foster an international crime ring that rivaled anything they'd ever seen. Sakura remembered Madara before that all came to light, when she would stay over at Sasuke's and get candy from the teenager with success stamped clear across his forehead.

"Sasuke, please respect my privacy, otherwise I'll redirect this call to the escort service I have on speed dial and they'll give you a boner at work…in front of your brother."

Sasuke hisses into the receiver and Sakura can just picture how frantic he must look as he glances around to make sure no one overheard her threat. Just the idea is enough to already agitate him, and Sakura truly has no great wish to push his buttons and humiliate him (poor kid could not function once the slightest bit of blood is redirected), but Sasuke needs to learn to let her have her space, even if that meant with Shisui. It didn't, but Sasuke doesn't need to know that.

"I'm going to hang up now because I'm tired and my bed is already made up. I'll see you bright and early in the morning. That fine with you?"

"H-Hn," Sasuke grunts in response.

Sakura mummers a final, familial 'love you' before hanging up. It's not much later before she's finally in bed and asleep like she said she would be. She wakes only once in the middle of the night when her phone goes off with a text alert, reaching for the gun on her nightstand, before falling right back asleep.

She wakes early, showers, brushes her hair till it's soft and wavy on her jaw. She forgoes makeup again, too worried about what has happened in the hours since she last slept. At least the bags are gone from under her eyes. She gives herself a final one over in the mirror before heading out the door and making sure to lock it behind her.

Her phone beep a text alert right before she steps onto the car and she finds a hand hold before pulling her phone out to read the message. The number is blocked.

'One car further from the front, love.'

Sakura feels ice in her spine as she pockets her phone and surveys her surroundings. It's the morning rush, but her car feels abnormally packed. Looking to her left, to the car she was directed towards, she see's it's not nearly as crowded. One hand on her holster, she moves past a mother and her teenage daughter with a backpack to cross over. She slides one door open, closes it, and then pauses on the last barrier between her and him. She should have expected this. Madara doesn't give things freely, he trades, and she ate his damn food.

She rolls the door back and steps in, noticing who looks up and who looks away. One or two she recognizes. Madara has a minimum of five other guys in the car with him, and those are just the ones in suits looking menacing.

He's also dressed in a suit, but he gold of his cuff links tells her he's a league above all the others in the car. One leg is casually draped over the other and his finely polished shoes reflect her form as she rolls the door closed behind her and latches it. He doesn't look up, but she does notice how he smiles secretly to himself, near giddy for their encounter. For being nearly nine years older than her, he's more childish than she ever was.

"I thought there was a rule about trash being on trains," Sakura casually remarks before stopping in front of the older Uchiha.

He looks up from beneath his bangs and she notices how his hair is braided back today. He picks up on her stare and smiles wider. Absently, he runs a finger under the loose braid. "You don't like the style? I miss when you used to do my hair for me. It's been too long."

She had been too young to know what a huge mistake she had made when she tried to make a teenage Madara her friend with hairbrushes and cheesy homemade gifts. He will forever tease her about it.

"What do you want from me this time?"

"A date?"

Her answer is flat and quick. "No."

Madara pouts like a child, leaning back in his seat. "You're so cold."

"You're a criminal and one day I'm going to put you away for it."

"You're adorable when you try to be menacing. Tell me something else that will make me shiver, love."

She wants to threaten him again and be angry, but that never works out the way she wants to with him. So instead she swallows her angry words and takes a step back, hand on her hip, posture nonchalant. "Enough games. I have more important things to do and places to be. You have less than eight minutes before I get off so get to the point of it."

He still pouts, but with a nod one of the men around him steps forward to hand off a black folder with dark red ink stamps across the front. When he shifts it, the glare lights up the insignia of his own, personal Sharingan seal, what every Uchiha male gets when they turn of age from the clan elders. "I have a gift for you."

"You never have gifts."

"I'd love for it to be a trade, but really this is payback for something else I owed you."

He looks off to the side and there's a faint blush across his cheeks. She's instantly suspicious, but decides to keep her mouth shut until she sees what's in his file folder. Sakura reaches for the folder and lets it open in one hand. The picture on the front, paper clipped to the top, was Kabuto's. Underneath is a packing slip, a map, and a few other files. When she looks up, her eyes are wide.

"We don't have any of this."

"I know."

"How did you-"

"I'm a criminal, love. I kill people and steal things for a living. I don't need to respect anyone's privacy or anyone's laws but my own. I knew you would never get your hands on this as long as you stayed high and mighty, so I took some liberties." Absently, he twisted a strand of hair between his fingers and then looped it behind his ear. "You were neglecting your health over this, my poor dear. I've always cared about you, always."

Sakura knows he's not lying, because she remembers beaming as Sasuke's successful uncle dotes on her with obvious favoritism during their childhood. She had been a little girl, left for the Uchiha to all but raise alongside Sasuke and Naruto, the former being another ward they took responsibility for when his parents died. Together the three of them would get into so much trouble, but it was always Sakura who got them out of it, or fixed it up for them before anyone could find out. Madara praised her shamelessly for her responsibility while chastising the other boys. Izuna, Madara's brother, had tried to be impartial in how he treated all the younglings, but Madara made no secret about who was his favorite.

That had been a long time ago though. She didn't make him origami animals anymore, or tissue paper roses, or play house with him in the backyard under the tree fort where they were going to live together one day. No, those days were long gone, and between the two of them, was the long wide line of the law keeping them on either sides. Madara said there were no lines, no gates, no walls that could hold him back from her, but Sakura knew she wasn't a little girl anymore, and not all walls were meant to be broken through.

Sakura swallowed. "If I take this into the station they'll know it was you who left it for me, or gave it to me."

Madara waves a hand over his shoulder, eyeing the window behind her as the train approached a platform. "Like I care about any of that. They've been trying for years, but they'll never try hard enough as long as I remain helpful enough to be a lesser priority. No, with this you'll at least be able to cripple Kabuto. Catching him is something I leave up to you."

"You say that like you think I can," Sakura says.

"You're the woman I love. You can do anything." She pretends that doesn't make her chest ache.

Sakura folds the folder closed, but holds it close to her chest. It's too important to turn back now, even if she's already memorized all the highlighted locations on the front page's map of the city. She knows what she holds is worth literal gold to all the families who want justice for the absence of their daughters. Madara is watching her, and she sees her reflection a bit too clearly is his dark black eyes.

"And what does this cost me? You're a criminal, remember? You never do anything for free and everything has a price." Absently, she braces as the train slows and lurches when approaching the platform.

Madara chuckles, standing with fluid ease as if all the surface under his feet wasn't changing and trying to throw him off balance. Madara was never off balance, not even as a teenager. "I'm satisfied with little."

The train halts with harsh breaks and Sakura's knees absorb most of the shift, but she's not fast enough for that and the looming Uchiha who bends down over her to taker her lips with his. She staggers and he pulls her flush against his chest for a kiss that shocks her whole body. She's more than a head shorter than him, but his hold on her is unforgiving as he bends down to reach her and pushes apart her lips on a gasp and leaves her a memory of him across her tongue. He dominates all of her as she pants for breath, thrown off by the suddenness and the fierceness of the kiss.

She is faint when he pulls away, grin rakish. She doesn't know if the train is still moving or if her legs just aren't working anymore, but Madara holds her up and keeps her from falling. She feels him tickle the small of her back before kissing her again once more on the lips. It is a chaste kiss, and then he is gone and they are moving again.

Left all alone, Sakura reaches up to touch her lips, still feeling how they tingle. The car is completely empty, and the file from her hands is on the floor by her feet. She reaches down to pick it up and something loose falls out. When she turns it over she sees its a business sized card for one of the fancy seafood restaurants close to Mizu. On the back is a time and date for their reservation.

* * *

Does she go? What do you think?

I wrote this a while ago but never uploaded it here on FF. It's mostly on tumblr where I post new stuff. Also A03, but mostly tumblr.


	2. Chapter 2

Eighteen months earlier…

* * *

Sakura nearly slipped off the edge of the desk she was leaning against. She caught herself at the last minute and gaped. "What did you just say?"

"Shisui, that is one of the worst ideas you've ever come up with, and you're known for coming up with bad ideas." Sasuke's tone is level but the burn of his ears isn't hard to miss after so many years of friendship. Out of all his Uchiha relatives, Sasuke knows he has some of the most obvious tells, especially when it comes to his longtime friend and partner on the force.

"You don't think this is the first time we've used this ploy, do you?" The elder Uchiha reached back and grabbed a file before opening it up and reading straight out of the text summary. "In 1990 there was a police department that staged a fake wedding in an attempt to eradicate the major drug problems in the area. Two undercover officers acted as the bride and groom, many local drug deals were invited, and the cops busted them all together at the reception. It was a huge success with no major loss of life." He looked up with a smirk. "Also, the open bar got most of them wasted enough that they came in without a fuss."

"You're forgetting one major thing…there's no way Sasuke and I could pull that off, we're too green. I mean.. how the hell do you think something like this would work?"

Shisui hummed before reaching forward to pat the top of her eat in affection, the way he would when she was still a third grader running into his room with squirt guns. "Don't worry, you're not well known with just one year on the force, and Sasuke's brand new too. We could dress him up, give him a different name. It'll be fine. I got boys for this sort of sting, and it's a long one-plenty of time to play pretend."

Sasuke glowered. "You just want to see Sakura in a wedding dress, don't you?"

Shisui gasped and playfully covered the bottom half of his smile with his hand. "What an accusation. You should know better than that by now, Sasuke."

Sasuke shoved his cousin roughly and then dove for a different file on the desk, opening it up and scattering the glossy photos of Sakura in an apron, Sakura undercover as a nurse, Sakura in her uniform, Sakura from Halloween last year, Sakura undercover as a fancy window obsessed with diamonds, Sakura undercover at a cat themed amusement part as one of the cat girls…

"What is my reference file doing there?" Sakura asked, densely missing the look of panic as Shisui rushed to clean up his stash of photos.

"It was just mixed in with the files, the boys needed it for-for this mission." Shisui glared over Sakura's shoulder at Sasuke. "But if you think Sasuke is too eye catching to play dress up with, I'm sure Itachi would be more than willing to be your groom….or maybe I could get off rotation for something like this-ow!"

"Sorry, there was a fly buzzing around your ear," Sasuke bites out, glaring back at his cousin just as hard.

"You're a brat, my plan is brilliant. I've already submitted it for a budget approval. There's a shit tone of stuff in the locker we've confiscated over the years we can use."

Sakura sighed,, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was young, she knew that, and she wasn't nearly as experienced as most of the others on the force, but she was determined to make a name for herself and always put in the effort necessary to get the job done. If this was one way she could help, if this led to arrests and safer streets…"

"Fine. I'll attach my name to this crazy plan, but I only have five or six undercover contacts. My cover for the narcotics department has been in place for only two months. I don't know if I'm the best person for the job."

Shisui nodded, touching her shoulder in support. "It will take time to pull this one off, but I think you're uniquely qualified for it. Sasuke's cover is a little more solid, we'll lean on that."

Sasuke's undercover identity was that of a reformed John that switched out girls for drugs and became pretty profitable with it. Sakura had a hard time believing Sasuke's cover was the sort of guy to settle down with a girl, but maybe someone would believe him.

"Go home, get some good dinner, think it over. I have a meeting with the chief in ten so I need to scatter." Shisui ruffled Sakura's hair with affection but made a mess out of Sasuke's with a mocking chuckle. "I'll see you kids around!"

Sakura blinked, watching her partner attempt to comb his hair back down with his fingers before he glanced at her sideways. "I have a hard time believing he's ANBU level, sometimes," Sasuke admitted.

"I have a hard time believing he's a cop," Sakura snorted. Her own Jonin ranking was good enough for her. It had seemed to take forever to graduate to the prestigious level where her contributions in the field actually seemed to matter. "But…how did he know I was going to your house for dinner?"

The easy smile was back as Sasuke dropped his hand from his hair and looked to his friend. "My brother might have mentioned , you're over almost every other night for dinner. You and Naruto should just move back into your old rooms. Mom misses cooking for so many hearty eaters."

Sakura smiled at the memory. Her own parents had been seriously injured when she was still a girl as a result of a car crash. Her mother passed away a few days later, but her father remained stable in a coma that stretched on for years, draining the family resources and leaving Sakura without a relative to rely on. Naruto's father and mother died as a result of political shootings-his father had been a brilliant senator with presidential prospects.

The Uchiha took Naruto in right away as a favor to the politician they backed so fiercely. Sakura came later, after the relative in charge of Sakura's well fare turned off the life support machines and ran off with what was left of the family's money.

"It's not my fault all you damn Uchiha pick like birds with your food. Who told you to be so polished about it?"

Sasuke smirked. "Maybe you should have paid more attention to our upbringing. Ah, by the time we got to you I guess there was no saving it. You and Naruto are both wild pigs at the table."

"If that was true your mother wouldn't want us back so desperately."

"Old women get lonely. Agh, just get your stuff and come on. I'll drive you."

Sakura had other things to say, but Sasuke's ears were pink again so she let him be. After changing out of her uniform and wishing the other officers on duty good luck, Sakura met Sasuke in the back and trailed him to his personal car. The drive from the station to the main Uchiha manor wasn't a long one, but it was long enough to keep work and home separated for the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke still lived at home like his brother, and would likely live there until he was married as opposed to Naruto and Sakura who both moved out not long after becoming legally responsible for themselves. At least Sakura stayed close and went to the same school as Sasuke. Naruto was a different story, but at least he now knew how to work Skype now.

Sakura fell into habit at Sasuke's, greeting his mother, helping in the kitchen for a grand total of five minutes before Sasuke's moping prompts Mikoto to shooing Sakura out to entertain her baby of a son.

Sasuke takes her up to her old room,, left the way it had looked on the day she parted from it, waiting for her to come back. Sometimes when she stays late she forgoes going back to her apartment and instead spends the night, pretending she's sixteen again and worrying about nothing but school festivities and who is going to be brave enough to not be scared off by Sasuke or Naruto and ask her out. (She ended up never getting a boyfriend in high school.)

When Itachi comes up to call them down to dinner he chastises Sasuke for his inconsideration. They're both adults but it's still poor manners to be alone in a room together, sharing a bed, with the door closed. Mikoto is close enough to hear the tail end and snorts at her eldest before kissing his brow.

"Oh baby, if they were going to do it they wouldn't there or then when they're partners. And really, you should know your own brother better by now."

Itachi is a little too unsettled to respond to his mother of all people on the same topic, so he shut his mouth and sets to helping her carry out the food. Sakura catches a shadow of flush along his ears, but it's so faint it is hard to tell if it's nothing more than a trick of the light.

Diner goes too well and Sakura's heart hurts to have to leave when it's time for her to get back. Sasuke offers to let her stay in her old room again, but Itachi is already at the door with his coat and car keys, stealing the privilege of driving her back.

"It's been such a long time since I last had dinner with you guys. Weeks feel like months without your mother's cooking. It's going to be hard to get by without it."

From the driver's seat Itachi chuckles, glancing sideways at her before his eyes go back to the road. "You need not have to. She would be more than happy to pack you a lunch for Sasuke to take with him each day, and you are always welcome at dinner. You're part of the family."

When Sakura doesn't respond right away, Itachi senses the shift and chances another glance sideways at her. He can see her face is caught in something between weariness and resignation. She blinks when she feels his eyes and looks up to see him watching her as they stop at a red light.

"That's sweet, but I need to learn to do this on my own. You guys have been kind enough just to take me in." What went unsaid was still echoing in the space left empty between them. Sakura hadn't said it, but she might as well have said 'I'm not an Uchiha,' or 'I'm not family.' Itachi was learning to accept that better than Sasuke.

"Regardless," he began in a voice just a touch rougher than he expected. "We love having you over, and it's nice to see you outside of work obligations."

Sakura snorts quietly to herself. "You know we nearly never see each other when we are at work, right? We're in totally different departments." She held up two fingers and stared at them blankly. "Organized crime and narcotics. I guess they cross paths every now and then."

Itachi hums. "Once you have more experience and seniority things will be different for you. Don't rush into your work too quickly. I hear you're really racking up the hours undercover."

"Yeah, I might need it sometime in the future for a plan Shisui of all people has proposed."

Itachi's lips tug down into a frown. "He hasn't told me about anything like that. Was this recent?"

"This morning," Sakura says, nodding.

"Ah."

Sakura shuts her eyes and feels what goes unsaid. Itachi wants to ask about the mission without betraying such an active interest. She knows how to speak Uchiha.

A man of so few words it is a wonder he has already conversed with her this much. The only others he is this active around are his family members and maybe Kisame-his underworld connection from pre police academy days. She should be flattered.

It's dark outside and Sakura is glad it's another dry night. "Yeah, it's going to be a long term sting operation with Sasuke. We're getting married."

Itachi brakes hard for the red light a bit prematurely before coughing and inching up to the white line. "Sasuke agreed to this?"

"It hasn't been approved or anything yet, but he was there when Shisui mentioned what the mission would require and he didn't seem to be violently opposed to it." Sakura grinned as the light turned green and Itachi pulled out smoothly. "But for Sasuke, that might have been as good as a yes as you'll ever see from him at work. I wouldn't say he hates seeing all his relatives all over the place, but…he knows he's the baby."

"That will change. He is making a name for himself yet."

"He's trying, and I'm proud of him. I don't plan on holding him back."

Now it is Itachi's turn to chuckle. "That would be a first."

"You have no idea how I worry. That kid is improving in leaps and bounds." Sakura sighs as her apartment building comes into view. She's minutes away from her door and minutes more from a warm bed. Tomorrow is another day. "I feel like I'm watching his back at times."

"Don't force yourself to rush into anything or compete to keep up with Sasuke. You are uniquely gifted and qualified in a way that is different from him. Would you compare a crane to a koi?"

Sakura grins as Itachi pulls into a close to the door parking spot, remembering perfectly which building is her's. "Thank you for the words of wisdom, fortune cookie Itachi." She digs around in her purse, searching for her apartment keys.

She hears Itachi turn down the heat, but doesn't touch the key in the ignition. "Are you adjusting well to your new place?"

Sakura looks up, surprised by his change in conversation. The tone is even, but Sakura feels something off in Itachi. She follows his line of sight to the rear mirror and looks into it, searching for something that would set him off. It was almost as if he was searching for something.

Sakura thought it was time for her to leave, but something about Itachi's posture keeps her in her seat. "It's fine. Nice and small and plenty safe for what I'm paying in rent. A few neighbors know I'm a cop, they see me leave in uniform in the morning. No one's given me trouble for it."

"No odd visitors, notes from bothersome individuals?"

Sakura raises a single brow. "No, they know I'm a cop. Plenty avoid me like the plague."

"Then that's good. You haven't seen-" he looks to her and catches the expression on his face and flushes the way Itachi is known to flush-barely at all. "Forgive me. I know you can manage yourself. I was only curious to see if a mutual friend had made himself known to you after the move."

Sakura's brows rise to her hairline. "Oh." Her mouth freezes into the 'O' shape as recognition dawns. "Oh, you mean…you wanted to know if he visited me."

Itachi nods, glancing sideways, refusing to face her. "It was a foolish assumption."

"No, I understand what it means to you. You're heavily involved in his case and you're following leads where and when you can. But, sorry, he's never shown up here and I couldn't imagine he would. I've not seen him since anyone else, two years ago."

Sakura remembers a bit too vividly the man who seemed to have the world in his hand when she was only a little girl, playing at his knees and making paper flowers for his too wild hair. Madara Uchiha had doted on her far more than any of the other Uchiha and Sasuke hated his uncle for it. Sakura was his favorite and monopolized her as often as he could when she was younger.

After starting high school she started to see him less and less, and she thought that was because everyone was just so busy. But after graduation he stopped showing up to dinners and parties and no one knew why until not so much later.

Madara, as Uchiha as Uchiha could be, had turned his back on the life of law enforcement in favor of a lifestyle more lucrative. He became an international menace to the world of black market smuggling and fraud. Madara was no mere criminal, he was a man wanted for millions of dollars in theft, fraud, and racketeering-and those were just the crimes claimed by fearless legal citizens and companies. It was worse what he did to competitive criminals. Sakura had seen some of the bodies.

She offered Itachi a sympathetic smile, mentally wishing him good luck on his search."I don't think he even remembers me, much less wants to see me." She reached for the handle and the cold night met her. When she turned to close the door Itachi was watching her with an expression not even she could read. "Goodnight, Itachi."

"Goodnight Sakura, dear."

Shisui's plan was oddly streamlined into effect and Sakura and Sasuke were playing their parts later that week. In addition to their own stunts undercover, Sakura and Sasuke took work in stride, growing and learning alongside each other and veterans alike.

At one point early on they had the choice of splitting up to be paired with older more experienced officers, but Sakura and Sasuke were adamant about staying together, even if that meant extra training.

It was a month later when their alternate identities met outside a hotel and walked in together. One of Sakura's side dealers had noticed them together, so it was worth the show to make their relationship seem legit. Kakashi was in their ear, guiding them along.

They went back to the room, put on loud music, and took turns banging the bed against the wall until Kakashi's voice in their ear told them it was good, their tail had left hours ago.

Sasuke seethed, complaining about his sore arms before flopping backwards onto the bed. Sakura snickered, sitting down beside him. He was scowling, but she still ran a hand through his messy hair, styled in a way that was so unlike him. They made him wear false facial hair too. The make up was top notch.

"We're going to get married in another month," Sakura teased. "You mother may as well be pleased. I think she's been trying to set us up from cradle days."

"She's not supposed to know about this. If you ever came by for dinner you would know these things," Sasuke grumbled.

"Sorry, I've been busy."

"Liar."

She pouts. "Itachi doesn't call me names like this."

Sitting up, Sasuke tugs at her shoulders and pulls her down onto the bed beside him to lay. "He doesn't call you out on anything either. You're avoiding home."

"It's not my home."

Sasuke reacts, tugging her down and pulling her underneath him as he hovers atop her. Sakura is staring up into his spinning black eyes, narrowed and fearsome. "Are you afraid of me?" he asks hand reaching up to her throat.

"No."

He cups the side of her neck and slides his fingers down to her breastbone. "Why not?" he pushes down the already low top even further.

"I know you wouldn't do anything."

"Why?" his fingers tickle her in circles above her breastbone.

"I know you." She's dead faced, watching him. She knows what he wants her to admit.

"How?"

"Sasuke-"

He grabs her neck again and pulls her to him, closer than before. "How?"

Sakura swallows, closing her eyes before opening them again. She reaches out to take out the com to Kakashi and pulls out his as well. This is not something he needs to hear.

"You want me to say we're family, but I don't fit in that perfect mold, neither did Naruto. I just couldn't leave you like he could. We're not your real siblings, Sasuke. I'm sorry you feel differently, I'm sorry you loved us like brothers and sisters, but that's not a place we can ever call home, and you know it."

Sasuke doesn't speak, doesn't move, doesn't do anything but stare down at her. Making a decision Sakura reaches up to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him close to her. He doesn't fight her, but she can tell by his too stiff shoulders that this is not something that makes him happy. She kisses the shell of his ear and he flinches away.

"A sister wouldn't kiss you like this," she whispers meanly.

He spins away, eyes wide and breathing heavy. Sakura angles him with a look. "Or is that why you were desperate to play house. Then you wouldn't have to think about a girl in such a way?"

"Damn you." Sasuke's never been angry with her like this. He's been angry at her before, all too often, but it's different. Sometimes he's meaner, sometimes he's less cruel about his emotions, but Sasuke hisses from a place of real hurt as he looks at her.

"You're clinging to a fantasy. Sasuke, I've grown up."

"Don't talk like you know anything. I'm not stupid. And it's not like you don't love me too." He scoots closer to her again. No desire to be sexual there. "You understood me then. Why not now?"

"I really loved you when I was a girl," Sakura whispers, feeling her heart break. "I loved you, I really did. Even when I knew you didn't have any desire for a sexual partner or relationship. Even after knowing that…I thought I would one day be the exception." She swallows down the hurt. "I thought I would get to be to you what you were to me. I hated being your sister then."

Sasuke's anger melts into hurt as he watches her bleed from an emotional wound he couldn't help but creature by virtue of his being. "Yeah, I knew. But…I still wanted you beside me. I loved-love you."

Sakura grabs his hand and turns it over before kissing the palm. "But not as a woman."

Sasuke's eyes are pained. "As a person. Is that not enough?"

"Not anymore."

Sasuke's eyes turn angry as he glares at the sheets between them.

They leave angry, but in the morning they are back to the ghost of their old selves. Neither one brings up the talk and work goes on. It's weeks later, when they are both undercover and he has her pressed up against a wall, that he whispers into her neck.

"I…if it was you…If I tried it with you, would you stay?"

She doesn't answer, but pretends to reach a high place behind a dumpster and the next week their wedding invitations go out.

She doesn't give him an answer, and when Itachi invites her over for dinner, she doesn't give an excuse, just declines the invitation, knowing she's hurting both brothers in different ways. Itachi watched her the way she wished Sasuke would. Sasuke would never look at her like that, Sasuke would never look at anyone like that, and his offer to try was a dagger in her gut that twisted her guilt to unbearable levels.

After the wedding, they would be assigned new partners. In the future they would work together again, but she said it was better they had at least ten months apart. Kakashi would take Sasuke, and Sakura was still unsure of who would mentor her. One of Shisui's uncles was going to be free soon after coming off medical leave. It would be good for him to take it easy for a while.

The days go past. From two weeks to one, from seven days to two, the wedding draws closer and the gap between the two of them yawns wider. One night Sakura thinks she will snap in the gap of it and hails a taxi to the Uchiha manor. Mikoto greets her at the back door in a sleeping robe, looking worried.

"I just need to talk to Sasuke about something," Sakura admits with a forced smile.

Mikoto is a gem for pretending not to notice Sakura's red eyes. But she loves Sakura like a daughter, so she pulls her close and kisses her before running up stairs to wake Sasuke and drag him down. Sakura has no doubt in her mind the rest of the house wakes up to listen in on their gossip.

Sasuke comes out and he's kind enough to wear a shirt even though Sakura knows he doesn't sleep in one.

"I need to apologize first," Sakura says before Sasuke can say anything. "I was hurt and I hurt you. It was even intentional. I'm sorry."

"Hn, I guess I was wrong too. I wasn't stupid. I didn't take your feelings into account."

Sakura swallows and nods before going on. "I don't want you to change, Sasuke. I know what you are and what your nature is, and that's not something I want you to fight. You're perfect the way you are even if that means we will never work out."

Sasuke shifts and looks like he wants to rebuke her claim, but she steamrolls on.

"I can't keep pretending I'm not who I am either. I love you Sasuke but not in the same way as you loved me. I've accepted you don't return my feelings, but I need space and I need you to understand why. I can't be your sister anymore, that's too painful a thing for me. I'll always care for you, I've known you too well not to, but it will be a while before we can go back to a place of peace. I can't be your sister, but I can be your friend."

Sasuke finally nods, and stares down at the ground. "Is this how Naruto felt, too?"

Sakura rolls her shoulders. "I don't know, maybe you should ask him about it some time. But we're getting married, so I thought it best to clear the air before you see me in white."

Something about her tone makes him perk up. There is an under layer of playfulness there and it's enough to convince him everything will be alright. It will hurt, and the healing will be long, but they will get through it.

Sasuke goes back inside and in the hallway to his room he notices Itachi's door left open. Itachi is at the window, watching Sakura walk away, one hand on the glass, eyes straining with the wish that she would turn around and look back, maybe notice him. But she's gone without so much as a backwards glance.

"She didn't cry," Sasuke offers, knowing his brother is in pain.

Itachi's hand drops from the glass and it is a still moment before he finally speaks. "I think I'll always hate you a little bit for this," Itachi whispers, too soft for Sasuke to hear the envy he knows is there. On other nights it was things like 'why couldn't it have been me' or 'why did it have to be you' that makes Sasuke so keen to the tone of voice his older brother uses when it comes to the one thing he was selfish enough to want for his own.

Sasuke nods. "Yeah, mee too."

Sakura knows they can't stop her for drinking on her wedding day, especially not when the sting went so well. It's hard not to when she can still taste Sasuke on her lips. The sealed their make believe vows with a kiss and it meant everything to her and nothing to him.

Sakura watches them haul away one of her dealers, grateful this part of her job is done. The reception hall is empty again and she knows most of the force has left. She's off, and too many people know she needs space after such an emotional ordeal.

It didn't help matters that Sakura woke up in the morning and let herself pretend Sasuke really was getting married to her. She felt so good about it, she let herself believe the lie and did a fantastic job hiding the pain as the whole dream came crashing down around her.

She took another drink and the miniature bottle of marshmallow flavored vodka joined the other bottles. Anything more than one wasn't a god idea. She just chuckled number three.

"I don't know what's wrong with that boy. If I had been so lucky I would have torn apart the world for the privilege to stand next to you like that."

Sakura stills at the sound of the voice. Her blood runs cold and she prays to god she's drunk and out of her mind. She refuses to turn as the footsteps draw closer. Madara circles her, having come from behind, to stop in front of her and cup her chin with his index finger.

"Damn, you're a sight. Much better without the wig if you ask me."

"Madara." Sakura winces at the sound of her own voice. "I'm sloshed. This isn't right."

She curses, shutting her eyes and praying he's not there when she opens them again. She has no way to fight him off, and even if she wasn't lessened by the alcohol, he's still Madara freaking Uchiha. No few men could even think about taking him head on.

"Yeah, I might be like a dream, but this is real, love."

He pinches her cheek and she nearly turns to bite his finger off before she knows what she's doing. He lets her, chuckling when she clamps down on his flesh. It's a habit from long ago when she was still a little girl and he was still the person who called her 'favorite.'

"Go ahead, you're the only one I'll let bite me like this, you know. Take all you need from me, I'm yours."

Her head swims. Where is her gun? "Damn it, who is this? I don't remember you being such a pervert."

"You weren't legal back then, remember?"

His hand reaches down and pushes up her skirt to catch the elastic of the frilly garter that was meant to be a highlight of her wedding. She dreamed about it once, Sasuke touching her bare thigh for a day such as this. She wanted it to be real, but it was just a act. The band plays "I fought the law and the law won," and the spell is broken.

Sakura feels her leg go up as Madara drags the frilly white thing down and off her ankle. "Mind if I keep this?"

Sakura doesn't respond, but closes her eyes. "What do you want? I've not seen you in two years. You're not the person I thought you were."

When she opens her eyes she thinks she sees real hurt there for a moment, but it's Madara Uchiha, so she waits for it to pass before his words make it to her ears. "I've always tried to be honest with myself, but I can't say I've been a unwavering source of virtue all my life." He swallows, rolling the garter around in his hand. "I wanted to see you. I thought I finally could when I heard about you and Sasuke getting married."

Sakura wants to bear her teeth and sink them into his throat at the way his words mock her pain. "Didn't happen, idiot. You know what a sting is, don't you?"

"You made a convincing bride. I had fantasies of my own when I saw you coming down the isle." His grin is mean. "But I knew you were fantasizing too. No one looks that hurt to do such a good job."

"Mock my pain, you know better than others what I was thinking."

She reaches for a fourth bottle, barely bigger than her fist but Madara pulls it away and puts himself between her knees, holding the glass high overhead.

"He's not worth your pain. I knew that when you first told me you loved him in middle school. I also knew this day would come when you would reach the end of your love for him. You have nowhere else to go, but one day it will be fine because you'll know how to joke about giving him boners at work or some other random shit kids do."

She wanted to scream at him to shut up, she wanted to snap her jaws down on his neck and break the veins in his body with her teeth. She hated him for his words, hated him for how he hurt her. But all the anger bubbled up and then she remembered paper flowers and a time before she knew how to hurt in such a way. She remembered words like 'favorite' and promises like, 'forever.'

The anger fell from her in a mess and she slumped, hands in her lap. "What are you really doing here? You haven't been seen in two years."

"I got jealous."

She shook her head, brushing aside his confession. "Your family is worried."

"What about you?"

"I'm not an Uchiha."

He sniffs. "Thank god. You're the only one I cared about. The rest are all posers and fakes and dicks. I came back because I wasn't going to let you get married. I mean, I know it's all a scam now, but I got a little scared there when I thought the ice cube might have finally melted for my sun." His voice is a growl, deep in his throat. "My saving light. I was so afraid he actually took you from me. I had to come in person."

Sakura finds herself grinning too easily. "That's not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

"It's the truth that matters to me. I'm an evil man and I do evil things, so yes, I'm in town on business, but I'm here, right here, right now, for no reason other than you. Don't tell me you don't what a shoulder to cry on or a chest to beat."

"I really just feel like punching you in the jaw right now."

"Enjoy. Even your pain is pleasure."

She scoffs. "I don't remember you being such a pervert."

Madara chuckles and his face looks like it was made to sin. "It's amazingly freeing to interact with you now that you're not jailbait anymore. I thought I was going to die. I swear Itachi knew, that kid is a shark when it comes to you. He still pining away in his tower like a turtledove?"

"Madara, you're making my head a mess. Tell me what you want and go away. Can't you see I'm moping. I want to wallow a bit more before I go back to being an amazing cop that's trusted to put you behind bars."

He leers and Sakura stumbled back onto her hands. She siting on the edge of a table and he's tall, towering over her. "Don't worry, I'm good in handcuffs whenever you're ready."

Sakura remembers herself and reaches down into her dress on the other side where her pistol had been hidden earlier. She levels it with practiced ease. "I'm not someone you can take advantage of."

His eyes shine from the end of her gun's point, like he's almost proud of her. She has him at gunpoint and he's grinning like mad. He brings the garter from her thigh to his lips and kisses it. "You'll relearn this all over, but I'm not like those two brothers. I'm not like any Uchiha every before or after, actually. You'll remember that in time.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." There are noises in the back room and he's still watching her like she's the damn moon in his night sky. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you."

One of Sakura's old dealers crashes through a wall and run for an opposite exit. Sakura swings her gun to the side and nails him in the knees, taking him down from her spot on the table before she even knows what she is doing. She hops off and balances herself, forgetting she ever took a sip of anything. Her aim is too sharp as she advances on the criminal just in time to see Kakashi and Yamato slip in, guns drawn.

When Sakura turns around, Madara is gone, but Sakura suspects that's a temporary thing.

There will be more of Madara Uchiha in the future. She feels a heat on her thigh where his fingers had just been, minutes earlier, pulling down the white elastic with careful ease. Yes, there will indeed be more of Madara Uchiha in the not so distant future.


	3. Chapter 3

Present Day

* * *

Her jacket was on his couch in a messy heap. She had tossed it there carelessly minutes earlier along with her holster. She wouldn't need it now. Kagami's hands were on her shoulders, rubbing circles into her flesh, tracing the pattern of her muscles further down her back.

Sakura felt the sight leave her lips before she knew what she was doing. She bit back the moan and closed her eyes, content to let her former partner use his hands on her body however he saw fit. She trusted him for this, even as his hands edged deeper and deeper.

Her teeth locked onto her lower lip and stayed there, holding back the moan she wanted to let go. This was all she wanted. No more reports, no more work, just…fun.

"That's enough uncle, you're making it gross."

Kagami looked up from Sakura's back and smirked. "You're jealous you don't get these anymore, or do you wish you were the one who actually knew how to perform a halfway decent massage on our favorite Sakura blossom."

Sakura looked up from her folded arms and glared over her shoulder at Kagami. "Who said you could stop? I still have knots."

"As you wish, princess," the older Uchiha laughed before kissing the back of her head.

Shisui scowled, but made room on a spare chair for himself as he resolved to stay with Sakura while his uncle teased him mercilessly. It was so easy to misinterpret those sounds she made from his office and it drove him insane if left up to his imagination.

"You shouldn't even still be here, Sakura," Shisui began, convinced to not make his presence in her room weird. "You've been working double shifts with Sasuke, boy wonder, just because he has issues compensating for something."

Sakura didn't look up from her arms when she replied. "I don't mind."

"I mind. Does he not care what he's doing to your health?"

"Shisui, I'm on the police force, my health is not a primary concern, otherwise I would have been a secretary."

Kagami made a dismissive sound behind her as he found a knot and worked it over. Sakura bit her lip and kept her head down as the pressure turned nearly uncomfortable.

"My most favorite nephew is right, you're overworked. And I know you don't want anyone taking it easy on you because you are a girl, there's only so much you can do with a human body, regardless of sex or gender. You're going to need a break sooner or later."

"Are you lecturing Sasuke like this?"

Shisui snorted. "No one here cares about that prick enough. We're happy enough to let him learn the hard way the importance of taking a rest every now and then. I just don't want to see him drag you down with him. I think even Itachi would kill him if you got hurt because of Sasuke's stubbornness."

"I'm resting and relaxing now, aren't I?"

Kagami huffed angrily, pausing in his work. "A ten minute tune up with me is no such thing. I'm not even using any of my oils or proper treatments. You said you wanted something quick."

"We're getting briefed at noon."

"You just got off the night owl shift."

Sakura yawned into her arms before looking up at Shisui's shocked expression. "Don't look so surprised. I've known you to pull a triple every now and then. Besides, after the brief I'm heading home as soon as Obito gives his presentation."

"Speaking of Sasuke…where is he?" Kagami asked.

Sakura murmured something that sounded like 'I don't know' into her arms before lifting her head. "It's my time to summarize a brief for our team. He went home."

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" Shisui hissed, nearly standing up in his anger. "How does he rate? You were both at the last briefing."

"Yeah, it was his turn, but it was about a case I was angling so I wanted to be there to hear it for myself. He takes the worst notes."

"So, because he does a shit job you end up covering extra slack," Shisui dryly summarized, looking ready to throttle his younger cousin the next time they met.

There were few people that could get Shisui so genuinely annoyed as quickly as Sasuke Uchiha. Not only was he a pretentious child that annoyed Shisui whenever he came over to play with Itachi, but Sasuke also had the stupidly good fortune of securing Sakura freaking Haruno as a partner.

The fact that she had feelings for him was little less than secret as far as eligible Uchiha men were concerned. The fact that Sasuke didn't return the feelings made a lot of other Uchiha feel like Sasuke was making a waste out of his good fate. Shisui was inclined to think something more along the lines of it all being fine in the end. It was Sasuke's choice, and his decision to squander the girl's affection did nothing but make it easier for someone else to come in and look impressive. Since last year's undercover wedding operation it seemed like any potential romance between the two of them was improbable and Shisui felt inclined to not encourage Sakura's feelings any more if Sasuke passed up on indulging her. Thankfully, Sakura seemed to recover with time.

Sasuke did a lot of annoying things, but the worst was how little he seemed to notice Sakura's needs or value the contributions he took for granted from her. He even forgot her birthday last year. They had been practically raised together and he still missed her birthday.

"If you need to, you could always partner up with me again," Kagami chuckled. "I'm sure Obito wouldn't mind the extra company."

"How is Obito doing? I haven't seen him recently. If you think I'm burning the candle at both ends you need to take a second look at _that_ guy."

"Hmm, one of his informants, a PI has been having some pretty nasty breaks. Great for us, terrible for the PI and his six recovering gunshot wounds."

Sakura hissed, reminding herself to send flowers to Kakashi. The old goat refused to die, but she worried nevertheless. Being a former officer, he was a quick wit with minor difficulties in respecting chains of authority. The PI gig was pretty recent.

"Who's in the hallway?" Sakura mumbled.

Kagami paused on her back and Shisui sat up, hearing the running feet as well. Seconds later one of the younger officers staggered in. "The briefing just got moved up, there's been a development!"

"What sort?" Shisui asked, already standing.

The younger officer stammered before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the crumpled sticky note. "Something about a Kabuto sighting."

Kagami felt Sakura jerk under him and wanted nothing more than to force her down and make her sleep, because he knew once she heard that name there was nothing that could hold her back. He held onto her as she sat up and glared like some mythic demon.

"Where?" she demanded in a low growl.

"L-local."

Sakura pushed Kagami off and reached for her holster and jacket. There was no way she was going to rest now that she's heard that name.

Sakura took her vitamins with her coffee, ignoring the glare from Shisui as he leaned against the counter, watching her while waiting for his partner.

Swallowing, Sakura washed it down with dark expression and glared back at Shisui over the rim of her styrofoam. Departure was in ten minutes and she had taken a short nap after the briefing while the squad waited for their target to enter the area. Kabuto was teasingly slow about it.

"You're not coming."

"Your uncle is the chief, not you."

"He's biased and sentimental. He couldn't say no to you if he wanted to, he thinks you're going to end up his daughter in law somehow. Don't tell him Sasuke's queer, he'll shit a brick."

Sakura swallowed everything in her cup, crushed her fingers through it and dropped it into the trash before going after a muffin left behind on the 'free' table. It was stiff but it wasn't old enough to throw out. Sakura stuffed her face before holding up three fingers and waiting for the food in her mouth to be chewed and swallowed before going on.

"First, he has told me no plenty of times on plenty of things. I get to go if I take a nap-which I did- and eat something before the roll out. Second, he knows Sasuke is ace, he just thinks all Uchiha are ace until they get married and then they turn into sex gods. You and Kagami are exceptions to that…and maybe Madara, I don't know. Thirdly, he doesn't think I'm going to be his daughter, he just likes me because _everybody_ likes me." Sakura took a cup of water from the dispenser and filled it before washing down her muffin.

"I am-no, it's…"Shisui struggled to find the right words to lead with as emotions warred on his face. He looked agitated more than anything else, but at times he almost seemed embarrassed. He grabbed a cup for himself and filled it with water, giving his hands something to do. "You're pretty full of yourself."

"I didn't say everyone wants to fuck me, I said I'm likable."

"Not right now you're not."

"You'd still like a run in my pants," Sakura muttered over the rim of her water cup.

Shisui dropped his water cup and the floor turned wet. His face was a mess of red. Oh God, if Itachi heard that he would be in so much trouble. If Madara heard that he would be _dead_ and buried.

"Th-th-that was one time, one time and I was buzzed and I didn't know who I was talking to."

Lies, lies, oh sweet pretty lies. He knew exactly what she was remembering and how not intoxicated he wasn't and he knew exactly who he was talking to back in college. She had been a freshmen at their university and still hung up on Sasuke. He thought he could be a better distraction.

Sakura hummed, emptying her water cup while Shisui bent down to wipe up the water. His Kevlar vest made it a stiff endeavor. It was only more embarrassing when Sakura slid down the counter to stand behind him and smirk. If she opened her mouth he knew she would make some crude comment about his ass the way Kagami taught her to.

"Could you just do me a solid and forget that ever happened?" Shisui whined, ducking his head as he mopped the rest of the water with a rag.

"What happened?"

Both looked up to see Itachi in the door. Shisui went pale.

"Your cousin was trying to be a show off and ended up cleaning the floor with his trick. We ready?"

Itachi nodded, thankfully never looking away from her face to notice Shisui's relief or fear. "Target is on the move. We're cleared to go."

Sakura didn't look back to see Shisui follow. The three of them seeped out of the room like a band of ghosts, joining the larger unit all heading into the garage. Nervous energy made things sharp as Sakura climbed into the back of the van and sat between Itachi and Shisui, not minding or caring that she broke up the partners on their bench. She knew neither would mind and she was right.

"Holding up fine?" Itachi asked, voice soft for her as he stared down into his helmet. He held it by the straps, straightening it out before it put it on.

"I had a nap."

"I meant about Kabuto. That's the only reason you're here right now. Chief wanted to keep you behind because of your back to backs, but Kabuto is one of your cases."

Sakura snorted. "You mean your dad. Yeah, no, he just wanted to see his son acting so determined in place of me. Kabuto is Sasuke's case too."

It was Itachi's turn to almost snort, but Uchiha don't snort, they just make that sort of funny 'hn' sound with their breath. For Sakura there was a bonus smile. "Kabuto is your case."

Sakura didn't argue a second time. It was true that both her and Sasuke were partners and her cases were his and his cases were hers, but there were some that Sakura was more invested in and some Sasuke was more invested in. Kabuto was Sakura's priority for more than just professional reasons.

"I'll be fine. I just don't want to be disappointed. The intel was odd with the details on his activities."

"Does it matter if we find him?" Shisui asked, butting into their conversation with his helmet already in place. "We'll just beat it out of him before that happens."

"What did you think was off?" Itachi asked, leaning in.

Sakura shrugged as the van rattled along. "It didn't…feel like Kabuto."

"It fit the MO," Shisui said.

"Yeah, but that's what worries me. Kabuto is an enigma that evolves. He doesn't do things the same way twice, not exactly. He has patterns, but he's changing. I track him by trying to think like him, get into his head and see what's next. This deal feels like something he's already done. He's either altered it in a way we don't know of yet, or this is a copycat."

"Can't bee, Kabuto was spotted."

Shisui flinched when Itachi glared over Sakura's head at him. 'Be nicer.'

"It could be any number of things," Itachi evenly replied, looking back down at Sakura. "I trust your gut. When we capture Kabuto we can get the details from him."

Banging from the front had them all suiting up. They were five minutes from the site would be expected to move into position on foot a block from the designated drop zone. It was during operations such as these that Sakura questioned her sanity in choosing a career in the Uchiha police force, a branch all unto their own with more danger and riot gear than any police force should have need for.

She adjusted the visor on her helmet, noting the scratches and wear.

"Dropping out."

She moved with the rest of the unit like black fog through the streets.

The fire wasn't typical. Sakura could smell the chemical compounds that ignited and fed the flames. She was with a unit of three trying to navigate out of the building.

It had been a trap all along and while it didn't look like they had sustained heavy losses, Sakura knew this was going to set a whole new precedent for how her force regarded Kabuto. The kid was so screwed unless he really was working with Orochimaru, which Sakura suspected. Arson wasn't his style.

Sakura smelled it before it happened, and reached for the nearest officer to throw him to the ground and cover him. The third guy follows her lead just in time to miss the brunt of impact as another crate of chemicals exploded. Sakura felt her ears bleed and knew her world was turning, but she was the only one getting up.

She cursed and kicked, prodding her two companions out of their impact curls. They had to keep moving before another one went off. It was hard to breath and it was only getting harder. Her lungs burned with more than just smoke. It sucked they were so deep into the building.

Sakura was glad Sasuke wasn't here.

"This is taking too long," she shouted, reaching a wall and looking around for a door that wasn't showing up.

The doors had all been locked or bolted when they got inside and Sakura suspected it was the same on this floor. Kabuto had planned his trap too well for it to be a spur of the moment thing. Sakura saw days and weeks of work everywhere she turned. This wall was just another one of them. There were walls without doors between rooms making the building more of a maze than anything else.

Sakura calmed herself long enough to pull off her glove and spread her fingers over the plaster. On the other side there was less fire, the wall was cool enough to tell her that.

"Units five and six are out. It's just us," Ibis called behind her. He was doing a good job of keeping them updated.

"Stand back." Sakura heaved the ax she had pulled from a crate earlier and split through the wall. It came away the way easy plaster does. Sakura didn't relent until it was big enough for the three of them to get through. She couldn't feel her body anymore, not enough sleep made her rely on her adrenalin, a sloppy, scary thing. She was a body of frazzled forces as she screamed and cursed for the other two Uchiha to move. They were slow, heavy with smoke in their lungs. Sakura couldn't feel her lungs.

The next room was nearly breathable, but that was soon changing. They found windows and Sakura smashed through one while the other two cleared out the area. There were no stairs but enough debris the cushion their fall. The two men went first and caught Sakura when she jumped last.

Seconds later as they were jogging through the alley their windows screamed and shattered as green fire took over the room. Seconds later and that would have been them too. The rest of the building was going up in angry fire and Sakura started to feel it in her chest.

"Damn," Ibis muttered.

Sakura turned to the other Uchiha, a younger kid named Ryuu. He hadn't said much of anything and she was worried. She tugged him by the wrist, heading towards the ring of lights and firetrucks. When he coughed she felt it through their contact.

"Medic," she screamed as a pair of Uchiha officers rushed to greet them.

They were already out of their armor and helping Ibis with his. Men in white rushed over to them and Sakura dragged Ryuu to their ambulance where a stretcher was already rolled out. Several other Uchiha were strapped down and many were being given oxygen.

The boy collapsed as soon as he was touched and the treatment began in earnest.

Sakura staggered back, feeling her back hit a metal surface as she slid down the side of the ambulance. She could feel it in her chest. Her lungs were burning still. Unclasping her helmet she tossed it angrily away and let her hair fall free and loose. Her face was a sooty, dark mess except for the trails where tears ran clean. She coughed, feeling blood in her mouth.

All the units had made it out, but it wasn't clear how bad the damage was. If there were chemicals in those boxes that caught on fire there was no telling how bad their lungs would be. A good chunk of the force would be on medical leave by the looks of things.

Was this the point of the ambush? To weaken the Uchiha before something bigger? Sakura's gut told her to look underneath the underneath and she didn't like what she saw there.

A woman in white came over to Sakura and started administering a breathing treatment. She was talking but Sakura couldn't hear the woman rightly. She was lifted and carried off the ground towards a cot but she struggled and the woman compromised by sitting Sakura down on the edge of a fire truck.

She was asked questions and Sakura tried her best to answer them as she began to strip her armor. It was too tight and too hot to wear.

"Damn it!" Sakura looked up when she heard the sound and saw Obito, face twisted in pain, jogging towards her. "You weren't supposed to be here, what the hell were you doing in that building?"

Sakura glared, getting ready to verbally castrate him when he dropped onto her in a shivering hug. Sakura's anger melted and she relented, closing her eyes and leaning into his embrace.

"I'm sorry, I should have been here. I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"You're not my partner, and you're not my parent. Stop acting like a mom."

Sakura winced at the sound of her voice and sealed her lips. When Obito pulled away she knew she sounded worse to his ears. "You sound terrible."

"Itachi…Shisui…?" She didn't say more.

"They're fine. Itachi's asking for you and was up looking earlier when they made him sit down again and almost had to strap him. He inhaled a lot, he's coughing up blood too, but Shisui's okay. They weren't together."

Sakura remembered how they were split up. Both Shisui and Itachi were made squad heads. Sakura had been put under Ibis, mostly as a support unit. She wasn't supposed to see any of the action, which was why they were so far back in the building. In the end, that turned out to be the worst thing for them.

"Tell him…I'm okay?"

"Don't talk so much, you sound shredded. They're taking care of you, but I want you to go in one of the the ambulances for admittance." He started to wave someone down. "You can even ride with me. They took Itachi already."

Sakura wanted to protest but there was a knot in her lungs. When she coughed more blood came up and it scared Obito enough to make him start screaming. She saw somewhere in the mess of people Shisui, standing still and looking lost as he watched them pull her up and lay her down onto a cot. She felt boneless and could only imagine what she looked like.

'It's cause I'm tired. I didn't get enough sleep,' she wanted to say, but she was drifting in and out.

The ambulance rushed along and made only one stop before the hospital. Sakura heard the back doors open and someone new climb in beside Obito that made the Uchiha curse.

"I swear, she wasn't supposed to be there. I didn't know He let her one until-"

"Shut up, _now_."

Sakura tried to open her eyes because she had never heard that voice before, even though she knew she knew who it was. The person in the back of the ambulance with her was someone she knew, just more angry than she's ever heard them. She knew a moment later when she felt him take her hand. She squeezed it, wanting him to know she was fine, she was okay.

She heard sounds and couldn't make them out. She felt Madara pull her towards him, careful of the mask on her face, cradling her as soft as a wounded fawn in his arms. He called her sweet things and stroked her face, wiping away the soot with his fingers. She heard him tell her not to cry, but she didn't feel herself crying. It was just the soot caught in her lashes.

"I'm going to kill him," Madara admitted, sounding broken and lost. He wasn't angry in that moment, but desperate for a way to make things right. She felt his hands in her hair.

She tried to say his name but there was blood far back in her throat making her cough. It came out on a ripped apart breath, staining her lips read and splattering against the plastic of the breathing mask. It smelled terrible.

She heard his strangled groans as he struggled to help, failing to do anything more than hold her. "Shh, love, shh, don't speak, I'm going to make this right for us. I'm going to fix this. It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. Shhh, Sakura, love, shhh, you're going to be just fine."

"Madara," Obito called, sounding tentative and afraid. "The hospital is coming up. You need to go. They'll see you."

Madara hissed, hands around her tense and shaking. He didn't want to let go, he didn't want to give her up, but she coughed again and he knew he had to. He had doctors, but they couldn't treat like a gunshot wound, maybe, but Sakura needed the best.

"I'm going to kill him for this. I'm going to put him in the ground." He leaned in and kissed her hair, brushed it out of her eyes and then kissed those too. "I'm going to make this right, love. You're going to be okay. I won't let anything else happen to you. You're going to be alright. I love you. I love you."

He was a criminal and Sakura suspected he knew about what Kabuto had been planning He was a murderer all on his own, but he was also Madara Uchiha. He was a criminal but he was also the man who called her favorite. He was the boy she made paper flowers for and told all her secrets to.

Her eyes were heavy and her brain was foggy, but Sakura squeezed his hand.

She heard Madara's staggered whisper of a breath before he kissed her again. His tears fell on her face and his lips trembled.

"I love you, Sakura. I'm going to make this right. Just rest. Most precious girl, you silly, brave, wonderful creature. I love you, more than anyone. I love you."

"Madara."

"I love you. I love you, be safe. Sakura."

He kissed her again and she heard him curse as the ambulance pulled up. Obito helped Madara out and Sakura felt herself fall the rest of the way asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

The blue one is the use once in the morning right after waking up, and again right before going to sleep. This will help repair your lungs. The red one is to carry around and use if you feel like you need it."

Sakura handed over both inhalers to Itachi who took them with a grimace. She felt sorry for him when she remembered how she felt when they told her the same thing only hours ago when she woke up. Her surgery had gone smoother in comparison to poor Itachi's. He was trying to be brave about it, but there was going to be a long recovery for him to go through before he could put on a uniform again. The same could be said for her, but at least she knew recovery was possible. Itachi had gotten it the worst out of all of them.

"If you need it, I'll remind you each day." She tapped the blue box and it was enough to make him look up and grin.

"You think I'll need it?"

"I think you'll be difficult until you have the attention," she answered, crossing her arms. There was a familiar sort of knowing in her eyes that came from nearly a lifetime of knowing the Uchiha that was Itachi.

His smile was soft even when he tried to be teasing. "Then please take good care of me, _housemate_."

Sakura groaned, sliding down in the chair across from Itachi. "Really? You gotta rub it in, don't you?"

"Allow me this one joy."

"You're all overreacting, I swear. Nothing happened."

Itachi's smile fell away and his eyes turned hard. "A wanted criminal with a record as violent and vile as they come took advantage of the situation and snuck into your hospital room the day after your surgery. No one cares that all he did was leave flowers, that's not the point. He bypassed the security detail and was around you when you were most vulnerable. He could have done anything he wanted when he was alone with you. He's taunting us."

Sakura bit her bottom lip and held her elbows. She hated how she wanted to defend Madara, a wanted criminal that had once been one of her most treasured people. She felt guilt for still holding a part of him in her heart. She hadn't turned around and hated him like Itachi had, and Sakura suspected she never would.

Madara, as cruel as he may be to the rest to the world, was nothing but soft and kind with her. It was a tempting sort of feeling, to be the only thing loved by a man who hated the rest of the world. She wouldn't lie, it made her feel special, even though she knew it was only because of how they shared a close history. She could have been any other girl in that same situation and Madara would have felt just as strongly.

"I don't think he wanted to hurt me, and really, our efforts should be elsewhere. The force is left so thin now by all the officers on medical leave. I don't know if that's what Kabuto wanted, but it's no coincidence that his associates have doubled their movements to and from Oto."

"True, but Kabuto is not moving right now; he's too scared," Itachi muttered, looking down at the boxes in his hands. "He miscalculated and pissed off the wrong mob lord."

Sakura blinked, remembering the hushed conversation outside her hospital room. "So, it is true, what they were saying about Madara going on a vengeance spree. They wouldn't tell me."

"I asked them not to." Itachi looked up at her from where he sat in bed. "You deserve some peace for recovery, and if you found out I knew you would want to look further into."

Sakura felt tense inside her body, like her arms, legs, chest, and face were all part of a suit she had climbed into and outgrown while inside. She felt tight and trapped. Below her ribcage was a fluttering desire to break free and be useful. Refusing such an urge would only leave her feeling agitated, but she knew the Uchiha wouldn't understand that coming from her. She had been a child too long in their eyes to not need extra doting at a time like this.

"I still do. I need to be helpful in some way, even like this."

Itachi glared at her and it was cutting enough to make Sakura flinch. A second later Itachi realized his mistake and looked away, cheeks reddening. "Don't," he whispered in that raw voice of his, still sore from surgery. "Don't push yourself again. That's the whole reason you're here."

"I don't regret it."

" _I do_. You were in sub par condition going into that building, and you were in charge of getting those other two out, both of which are okay and have already been discharged. They didn't take as much of the smoke as you did."

She looked away, uncomfortable with the unspoken accusation. Itachi was the only one who could say it out loud, but the second he did she'd bite back about he was just as much of a self destructive hypocrite as her and they'd both be sorry afterwords. Neither of them wanted that. She didn't know what his reasons were, but she knew well enough that he stood in the same darkness of self destructive tendencies, maybe even more than her.

"It was bad all around," she weakly offered.

Itachi might have said something more, but didn't. He took her words and nodded, looking back down at the inhalers in his hands. For a while the pair of them sat in silence, content with the breeze from the open window and the feel of sunshine. Regardless of the state of the world, it was a nice day and it had been too long since either of them enjoyed one of those.

Sakura felt herself slipping and didn't stop it when her body slouched down into a comfortable curl in the armchair that let her fall the rest of the way asleep. She felt like she could sleep around Itachi better than she could on her own. A little nap would be nicer than the fitful sleeps at night when the world was dark.

"Sakura?" Itachi's voice was a whisper.

She mumbled something and turned her head into the seat, nestling. Outside someone with a window open was listening to Fleetwood Mac and it carried like a lullaby. Just what she needed.

Shisui was at Itachi's door minutes later and when he walked in he was struck by the scene. Like something painted for fairytale picture books, the sunlight was golden and her lashes were long on her face as she slept cutely in her curled up position, but it was Itachi that made it a striking piece.

He leaned slightly forward in his bed, hands folded neatly as he gazed over at her fondly. His face was just as honey lit and soft in the same warm sunlight that made his eyes clear with love. Itachi sat in a hospital bed recovering from one of the worst accidents on the job, but he had never looked more content to Shisui in all the years the cousins had known each other.

"She's sleeping," Itachi whispered, watching her without looking away, even as he addressed Shisui.

"I can see that."

Shisui stepped into the room and slid the door shut behind him, being as quiet as he needed to be as he shuffled the box of baked goods to his opposite hand. He rattled them once before putting them down on the nightstand alongside Itachi's bed and then wen to the wall to lean against it and appreciate the setting.

"You act like you've never seen her sleep before," Shisui finally snickered, voice still hushed.

Itachi's gaze broke off with a complimentary flush across his face and up to his ears. "What are you here for?"

"Baked goods. Mom is getting things ready for the both of you to come home."

The words made Itachi swallow and Shisui realized why after a moment. Sometimes he forgot that Sakura wasn't an Uchiha or truly a part of their family. Same with the Naruto boy who had been a huge part of Sasuke's childhood, but at least that one moved on. Sakura stayed close and it was like there was webbing between her and the family.

"You should have seen your mother with Sasuke though, he was complaining about something and she just went off on him about how he has no right to complain when he's a slacker that lets his partner work harder than him on top of being a girl."

"Don't let Sakura hear you say that. She doesn't like being thought of different for her sex."

Shisui shrugged. "Yeah, I know, but that's _your_ mom. You remember how bad she was with your father when he approved Sakura's application to the force. Ice Age."

"It wasn't that terrible."

Shisui caught the snicker behind his hand, but his eyes danced with mirth. "Yeah it was. She was mad at everyone except Sakura. I mean, Mikoto was engaged at that age and everyone expected it with her and Sasuke being fused at the hip and all. Your dad only got out of it because he claimed it would help to keep an eye on her."

Itachi's hands, neatly folded over the bedsheets, flexed just enough to wrinkle the cloth underneath. There was a sill sort of pause while the world was silent aside from the music from outside fading in and out between classic soft rock and roll tracks. He watched her, searching for signs of waking, but Sakura didn't stir. Finally, Itachi closed his eyes and nodded once.

"Ah. Between the two of them, mother is the more traditional of the pair."

Shisui could tell his words had brushed up roughly against Itachi's sore feelings, but didn't take them back or regret voicing them. Itachi was a big boy and it had been years since then. Besides, there was more than one broken heart when it came to Sakura Haruno.

"Yeah, well your mom is super excited she's coming home. The rooms have all been set up and she's baking a shit ton of food. Your house smells like WildFlour Bread company."

"By your tone I would have guessed you were annoyed by that, but I should know you better by now. How is that something to complain about, Shisui?" Itachi asked.

"She's not letting me have any of it until you come home tomorrow. Can you believe that? It's all warm and hot coming out of the oven and she's not even let the quality control come in for a bite or two. She's hogging it all for you two."

"I don't believe you."

"Itachi," Shisui whined, dragging the name out. "She's torturing me."

"It is her right."

"You're so mean. You have no idea for how I suffer."

"We all have crosses to bear and I don't doubt that you already helped yourself to my cookies when brining them over." Itachi gazed cooly over at the tin on the side table and then up at Shisui.

"Quality control, remember?"

"I'm sure dinner tomorrow night will be to your satisfaction. Don't make yourself a nuisance."

Shisui's gasp was fake of course. "Since when am I a nuisance?"

Sakura's chest rose on a sort of muffled yawn as her leg stretched out and she turned a bit before settling back into the chair like a mouse in a nest. Both men held their breath, waiting and watching until she was still again. Slowly, Shisui looked over at Itachi to see his cousin was glaring hard now.

"Yeah, tomorrow night, got it," Shisui whispered. He waved and began to back up towards the door. "I'll see you then."

Itachi didn't respond, but nodded and Shisui knew he wasn't in the deepest level of trouble with his precious cousin. And even if it was only a little trouble, Sakura being there would smooth almost all other ills over and turn his cousin into a lamb. Shisui didn't have anything to worry about.

Dropping his hands into his pockets he strolled back down through the halls and stopped when he caught sight of Obito walking with a phone cradled to his ear. The other Uchiha saw Shisui and turned the phone off and slipped it into his pocket.

"Back from visiting Itachi?" Obito asked with an easy smile. Even with his scars he had a nice smile that was more easy going than most Uchiha's.

"Yeah, he's resting now and kicked me out. Doesn't want his favorite cousin in there to pity him. He's such a brat when he wants to be left alone," Shisui whined in a playful tone.

"No, I think that's only when it's you. Everyone else can take a hint and excuse themselves before he needs to glare you to death. You just have no social sense," Obito said.

Shisui made a dark face. "Why is everyone so mean to me today? I have done literally nothing to deserve this sort of treatment. I thought you would understand me Obito nii."

"I outgrew it. Ah, but I am here to see someone else. Have you seen where Sakura might be? Her hospital room was empty so I was going to check with Itachi, but if you just came from there did you happen to see her?"

"Sakura?" Something in Shisui's gut turned forcefully in a way that humbled and sobered him. "What do you need her for?"

"Just to catch up on some things." Obito smiled again and it made Shisui's brain stem tingle. "You happen to see her?"

It took a second, but Shisui fell into an easy smile and shrugged. "Nah, haven't seen her yet, but I know she likes the roof and the gardens and hates being cooped up. You know how she can get. From what I heard she's driving the nurses here crazy with not staying put."

"That sounds like her. I'll check in those places, thank you Shisui."

"No problem."

The two parted with an easy wave and Shisui kept the smile up all the way down to the car port and didn't drop it until he was behind the wheel and pulling out onto the main roadway. It fell off his face like dry plaster and he hated how he could still feel the danger in his gut and warning at the base of his brain.

What the hell had that been?

* * *

Sakura's room looked the same. She remembered being sixteen and getting rid of band posters with growing shame and updating the walls with the periodic table of elements. This had been where Sasuke and Naruto spent countless hours and nights keeping her up till late.

She had of course come back to this room more than once since moving out, but it was always funny walking into it again. She couldn't go back to her childhood, but walking into her old room felt like sliding into her favorite old shoes that fit her perfectly after years of shaping.

"Dinner will be ready in like thirty five to forty minutes, or whenever the table gets set," Sasuke grumbled, walking in behind her. He sounded tired and she suspected that was because of all the shifts he had to cover while she, Itachi, and a handful of others recovered. "Mom's making fancy stuff."

"How you doing?" she asked, dropping her purse onto the end of the bed while Sasuke started to click open her luggage. She slapped his hands away before he could open it and see inside.

"I'm fine," Sasuke grumbled, sounding a little more moody than usual. "Mom's being unreasonable again."

"I'll try to help with that," Sakura offered, knowing that would go over better than any other sympathetic phrasing or teasings would. Sakura was magic when it came to Mikoto.

"That's good to hear, cause I need to take a shower and maybe just melt a little back into a human being." Sasuke reached up and rubbed his face with both hands, groaning slightly. After a moment he pulled his hands down, stretching the skin just under his eyes before letting go. Hands still on his chin he looked over at Sakura and seemed to soften. "It's good to have you here again, though, and I'm glad you're safe."

"Of course I'm safe. I'm doing a lot better than your brother so all this worrying and doting is unnecessary. The first thing he did after coming home is go to his room to take a nap."

"Hospital beds aren't all that comfortable, I hear."

Sakura shrugged. "That's true. Still, I'm fine, but your idea of a shower is a good one. I'll see you later for dinner."

"Perfect," Sasuke said, leaving her with a smile.

Sakura unpacked, showered, and took some time to clean the bathroom with all her new things in it. Her hair was wet on her shoulders, but she toweled it mostly dry before dressing in a simple spring dress for dinner, too tired to go fancy and too sensitive to Mikoto's standards to not wear something feminine.

Sakura's hair was curly and bounced in damp curls around her face when she looked herself over in the mirror. She looked better than she had. She was braiding a strand behind her ear to clip back behind her head when she heard the soft knock at her door.

She opened it and found Mikoto standing there, lovely and ageless as ever with a wonderful smile on her face that felt like home. "Feeling better, sweets?" she asked Sakura.

Sakura dropped her hands after clipping her half braid back. "Much. Thanks for the time to freshen up. I think I needed it."

Mikoto's eyes were soft and dark as she reached for Sakura to draw her into a hug. "You're always lovely, my girl. I'm just glad you're feeling better." She squeezed a little tighter. "I'm so happy to have you home again."

Sakura's heart hurt but she squeezed back. "Me too."

Mikoto pulled away and cupped Sakura's face. "Yes, you do look more like yourself. Well, dinner is just about ready. I'm off to rouse my baby from his own clean up. Will you check on Itachi and ask him to come down? I think he might still be sleeping but he needs to eat. I don't trust hospital food. He needs something more on his bones."

Sakura laughed, but agreed to do as Mikoto asked. She had dozed and napped well enough, and couldn't tease Itachi for wanting the same once home.

His room was down the hallway around the corner from Sasuke's. Sakura had been set up in a far off wing away from the boys, as per decorum's sake. When they were younger Sakura remembered Itachi and Sasuke being closer, but Sasuke had made an attempt to move out from his elder brother's shadow in more ways than one, and now they were on different levels.

Sakura knocked don his door and after a minute didn't hear an answer. She called out softly and the result was no different. She tried the handle and found his door unlocked. She had been in his bedroom only a rare handful of times, and when she tried to think about how and when they had all been times that lasted less than five minutes.

Sasuke and her had snuck in once to try and 'uncover' his legendary porn mag collection after a fellow senior bragged about them to her, Sasuke, and Naruto. That had been mortifying to get caught in and she had never forgiven Kisame for it. Had there been anything she wouldn't have done for Sasuke's attentions back then?

"Itachi?" Sakura called, stepping into the room and then hesitating. His bed was towards the back of the room and she had to push open the door further to peer in and see more than just the foot of the bed. She saw his ankled and pushed in, leaving the door wide open behind her.

He was on his side with a pillow pulled down between his arms and another two under his head. He hadn't bothered with a sheet or even changing his clothes. His hair was still tied back and Sakura made a clicking sound of disapproval, suspecting his hair would now be tangled.

She touched his shoulder and called his name again. "It's dinner time. Your mom says you need to eat."

He moved, but only turned his face deeper into the pillows. She heard him mumble something and she rolled his eyes when it sounded like he wouldn't rouse for her.

Sakura sat down behind him on the bed and reached for the tie in his hair, pulling it out with a little more finesse than just the standard pull. It was a little tangled, but for an Uchiha that was unheard of. She ran her fingers through his hair, seeing no brush or comb, before parting it into four pieces and starting to cross weave his hair into a messy fishtail that ended up looking far nicer than anything on her ever had.

A droplet of water from her hair fell onto his neck just as she finished tying up the hair with a tie and he reacted, twitching and turning over suddenly to look up at her, eyes wide.

"You're here?" he exclaimed, voice groggy with unbelief.

Sakura flicked his nose and scooted back off the bed. "Yeah, have been this whole time. You ready for dinner yet or does sleeping beauty need a few more hours?"

She turned back to look over her shoulder when she was at the door and saw that Itachi still hadn't moved, but he looked plenty awake now. He reached back and fingered the braid. "You?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I swear it's not as messy as mine usually are."

He smiled, fingering it some more as it snaked over his shoulder. "It's nice. It makes my hair seem thicker I think, and would be good for when working out."

"Yeah, but if you were going to work out I would have just done a braid up and a bun up top because those work well for you," Sakura said, using her hands over her head to demonstrate what she was talking about.

"I'm not sure I know how to do that," Itachi mused, standing and joining her as they moved down the hallway. "Would you be agreeable to teaching me?"

"How to braid hair?" Sakura asked with a grin.

Itachi frowned at her smile. "I have more hair than you do, don't think yourself silly."

"Nah, nah, I get it. Yeah, I'll show you a few things. I'm not an expert since cutting my own hair so long ago, but I remember enough. I'll show you what you want."

And after dinner that night where everyone complemented Sakura on Itachi's hair, Sakura did end up teaching the older brother a handful of different braids and styles that he could use for leisure or work. She was surprised when he asked for more than just the fishtail and braided bun. Each night Itachi wanted to learn something new from her and actually put it to use the next morning.

Shisui tried to tease him about it once but ended up floundering when he realized that Itachi could actually pull each look off with amazing grace that did nothing to diminish his masculine beauty.

"How the hell does he do that?" Shisui grumbled to Sakura.

Sakura could only roll her shoulder and admit it was an Uchiha thing.(But it might have had something to do with how fit Itachi was when he wasn't wearing a shirt.)

Sakura was combing Itachi's hair a following night when he mentioned to her something she hadn't thought of. "I've only ever seen you do this for one other Uchiha."

Sakura's fingers stilled. "…Until you there has only ever _been_ one Uchiha that let me. It's not the most flattering thing to do with your hair for a guy."

"I appreciate it, nevertheless, and I'm glad I don't have to be envious of my uncle in this anymore." He reached up for her hand when she didn't continue braiding. "Did I upset you?" he asked.

Sakura blinked and shook the feeling off. "Nah, no, no you didn't. Sorry, I was just thinking. It's been a while since… since I did this with anyone. I was much younger last time."

"How young?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed at the question. She had been older, a teenager, well past the age when it was considered cute. She should have known by that time that something was off with his doting to the point of sloppy fishtails and braids.

"Why do you ask?"

"You still care for him, even when he's become what he has. I would like…to understand that feeling."

"I don't think you can understand that feeling," Sakura admitted, pulling her hand back and going back to his dutch braid crown. "I don't think _I_ can even understand it, but I can't hate him. There is nothing in him that has ever tried to harm me. It's my morals that give me pause, because I know he's a…bad sort of guy."

"Sort of?"

Sakura grunted. "There is a sort of logic in his criminal activities, and several cases have had evidence of vigilante justice. What he's doing in Oto right now…that doesn't help him, only hurts the other guys…the guys that hurt his family."

"Hurt you," Itachi corrected her.

"Friends and family discount, same difference."

"Maybe he is doing bad things for good reasons. You're both still on opposite sides of the law and he's not coming back without serving a great deal of time to atone for all he's done."

He reached back and grabbed her hand to still it. He didn't look back but it felt like his eyes were on her as she waited for what he said next. His fingers on her knuckles were hot.

"And that's not ever going to be enough to come close to deserving your sympathizes or anything more from you."

She didn't say much more after that but braided his hair dutifully and complemented it when they were finished before excusing herself for a walk.

The Uchiha had far forests of land she could get lost in if she didn't know them so well. Just out of sight there was a child's footpath that meandered down to a grandfather oak thick as any she's ever seen. In his branches a treehouse for children sat, almost elven in the way it seemed to blend into the tree.

Sakura leaned back to look up into the branches at her childhood home away from home, where she had played with Naruto and Sasuke and where she had thought she would grow up to live permanently. At least that was what she promised Madara back when she was innocent and young enough to truly believe in such things. What he must have thought of her, the girl he babysat, saying such outlandish things.

Still, Sakura felt foolishly sentimental as she reached for the ladder and lifted herself up. There was a rope, but she had never been able to climb up that way as a child. It really had been a long time since she came back.

Sakura came up through the floor and pulled the rest of herself up, panting slightly as her lungs strained with the new work. She was still healing, after all. She rested there a minute more before standing up and walking through the tree house nice enough for adults. Tall as she was, Sakura didn't have to bend in any of the three rooms. There was a crawlway up to a second level, but she was content to stay in the 'living room' on the bench in front of the windows, watching the birds. It was a world of peace for as far as she could see. This would have been a nice place to bring a book.

Sakura closed her eyes and meditated, content and relaxed. She ignored all the trouble from work, all the crime in the world, the attention of the Uchiha, the complication of her feelings for an evil man-no, not a evil, just a criminal.

She heard the rope clatter outside and turned around to see someone with dark hair climbing up. Sasuke or Itachi must have come out to get her. Dinner would be soon. They would be expecting her.

Sakura turned off the bench and stood, only to freeze as Madara pulled himself up through the hole in the floor. He looked up at her and grinned. "It's a bit tighter than I remember it being, right?"

"Shit," Sakura whispered, grimacing. "Madara, this is the Uchiha land."

He frowned in haughtiness, standing. "And I'm an Uchiha, am I not? Aside from that, no one but I ever comes out here anymore. They would cover the world over before they thought to look in their own backyard for me."

Sakura should had drawn her gun on him and arrested him on the spot, but she didn't have her gun, she was alone, and no one would hear her if she tried to scream. But more than those reasons, she felt tired in her heart and didn't want to go through the trouble of hating him.

She sighed, sitting back down. "What are you doing here? Come to check on me? I'm alive and fine, yeah."

"I'm not convinced. Let me see you here," he grunted, coming around the bench and sitting alongside her. He grabbed her face and she slapped his hand away on reflex, glaring when he chuckled. "Yes, I see it now. You're better than before."

"You've been too busy to be here. What were you really doing on Uchiha lands?"

Madara hummed, stretching his arm out behind her on the bench. She glared when his hand settled on her shoulder. "I was meeting someone who's actually helping me with the Oto infestation. As terrible a criminal I may be, you can't deny I'm an effective force in this war. The others know that without me they would be in far more trouble on account of the loss of so many boys and girls in blue."

"Our uniform is charcoal."

"You know what I mean. Hey, hey, I'm doing something decent, see? Proud of me yet?"

His words made her heart where ethics and morals battle emotion and feelings. "You're still a criminal. I'm on the other side of this, I still have to uphold the law and I can't condone what you've chosen to do."

"You're darling for still believing I'm the only dirty one here. You think it's all my good luck and skill that has kept me this close to the net but still outside it? No, the rest of my dear family knows I'm better off to them and their efforts where I am now. They're using me and I'm using them. I'll not be arrested as long as I'm useful for dealing with the scum that needs dealing with."

With his hand on her arm he tugged her closer and she glared up at him. His teasing smirk was gone and he looked tired.

"What if I told you I never chose this for myself? Would you still think I'm a criminal?"

"You _are_ a criminal, know you've broken the law more than just once on more than just one thing. You may not be evil, but you're still a criminal."

He tugged her closer still until she was pressed up against his chest. He bent into her and kissed her hair. "That's fine. I'm content in that. I'll be your criminal, just let me steal your heart, love."

"I'm keeping that off the shelves for a while more, thanks," Sakura snorted, smiling in spite of herself. Her snort made her throat itch and she had to turn away and cough a few times, covering her mouth with her wrist.

"Do you need water?" Madara asked, voice thin and hardly even there.

Sakura shook her head and leaned back into his side, forgetting how she was supposed to not want to be in his arms for a few minutes more. She felt safe there, and it was a nice sort of safe feeling. If she needed it, she knew he could be dangerous for her.

"Do you remember the promises you made me here, how we were going to get married and live in a tree house?" he asked in a whisper, brushing her hair back. "You braided flowers into my hair and told me you would braid my hair everyday if I let it grow longer. You told me you would be my bride one day when you grew up."

She didn't say anything but let him drone on about the memories they shared, about the things she said while still a child. Her eyes felt heavy as his voice washed over her, softer than velvet.

"Do you remember what I told you then, love, how I said I would look forward to the day you were a bride for me? I didn't lie. And when you fake married Sasuke, I was so angry even if it was a scam, that he got to have something that was mine. That dream at the alter with you in white belongs to me, it's mine. Wait a little longer and I'll be able to give it to you."

Sakura closed her eyes and leaned against his side as his voice washed over her, wave after wave. "Hey, you see how long my hair is now? You're going to braid it for me some day. I saw a purse and it reminded me of the one you had when you were taller than Sasuke. I thought of you this morning. Hey Sakura….hey."

She closed her eyes and let his voice drone on and on.

Later when she awoke she was alone on the bench and Sasuke was calling up to her to come inside for dinner. Shisui was joining them.


End file.
